Should Left-handed Players Play Right-handed?

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[craigthomson]

Another good way of deciding if a person should play left or right handed guitar is to check which way they naturally play Air Guitar - especially if they are asked to try to play Air Guitar the wrong way round (for them) and they are uncoordinated and it feels awkward. There are a lot of myths about guitar playing orientation, with some people (not you Phil) presenting less than true statements as fact. The main thing to realise is that everyone is different, so what works for one person may not work for another person. Some people are completely ambidextrous and can do pretty much anything with either their left or right limbs. Other people are completely “one-sided”, and can only perform tasks to a competent level with either their left hand/leg or their right arm/leg. A third set of people are cross-dominant, and perform some tasks with their left side and other tasks with their right side (which tasks are performed best by which side will differ from person to person). When we say that a person is left or right handed, we usually refer to the hand they write with but that is misleading as they may write with a certain hand but perform other tasks with the other hand. That is why when someone says everyone should play guitar right handed because either they, or a famous player, play guitar right handed but they are left handed (meaning they write with their left hand) is based on a misunderstanding. Some people will naturally write with their left hand but their natural orientation for playing guitar is to play right-handed. Another irrelevant comment made is that there are no left handed Pianos or Saxaphones (or whatever). Those are all completely different instruments to the guitar, and the hands operate in a different way to guitar playing. Interestingly there are left-handed Cellos and Violins (Charlie Chaplin played violin left-handed), and Thomanns in Europe sell some left handed classical stringed instruments. Then there is the old “learn to play right handed as your dominant hand will be fretting” chestnut. If this were a factor then most right handed players should learn to play left handed. In reality the picking hand performs highly complex tasks the more you progress with guitar, and the coordination between left and right hand is very important and made more difficult if a person is forced to learn guitar the wrong way round (for them). The next reason people give for saying everyone should learn to play right handed is that you will struggle to buy a left handed guitar. While it is true that there are more right then left handed guitars in the world, the situation for getting left handed guitars at every price point is much better than it has ever been. Even if you do not live near a music shop you can order online, and return the guitar if you try it and it is not right for you (always best to play a guitar before deciding whether or not to keep it). The guitar is a great instrument and is so adaptable being easily manufactured in both left and right handed versions, and there are no problems in stage positioning when left and right handed guitar and bass players feature in the same performance. Please remember that a minority of people will only reach their full potential as guitar players (and indeed will only keep playing) if they learn and play using their dominant orientation for guitar playing. Finally, what way round do I play guitar? I can play both left handed and right handed, and have put in the hours practicing and developing muscle memory on the instrument in both orientations. However, I am a better player performing left-handed as that is my dominant orientation for playing the guitar. Thank you for reading and apologies for the long post.

[ericv]

I'm a leftie who played right-handed for 3 decades, and it took years and years to "get good." I just switched to left, and after 6 weeks, I'm already almost to the level of playing I was the last time I played right-handed. So my advice for beginners: play with your dominant hand from the get-go!

[kennethcarlin]

I'm left-handed, but have always played right-handed. It just came natural to me. My oldest sister is left-handed and learning guitar. She went to a music store and the only LH guitar they had was a ESP Kirk Hammett guitar. She bought it anyway and tried playing on it and ended up selling it. She practices on a LH acoustic and a LH Gretsch electric.

[barryhirrell]

I'm left handed and for me it just makes more sense to have my dominant hand on the fretboard. Most of us Lefties are fairly ambidextrous, so picking and strumming are not an issue. That's what works best for me.

[bridgestreetdesign]

I’ve been playing left handed for almost 40 years. In the beginning I heard salesman after salesman try to sell me right handed guitars using the flimsiest of logic, which I always called them out on. Then I would hear the old line “why don’t you just restring a righty guitar like Jimi Hendrix?” It was really annoying.

[jralanmorgan]

Phil, you're such a Saint. I don't see other channels doing this for the fans. Not only are you simply trying to help people, but you're not selling anything! Take a lesson Beato.

[jaysmith]

Many don't know but, Jimi was actually right handed. Signed autographs with his right hand as well as threw a baseball with his right hand.
That stellar guitar player Jesse Johnson of Prince/The Time fame is actually left handed.
It's all about what feels "right" to YOU.
Another weird example would be those that play with the strings reversed i.e. low E on the bottom of the neck.
Eric Gales comes to mind. Phenomenal player!

[Andrew_]

For people who do some things with one hand and others with the opposite (ex write left, throw right), that is called being cross dominant. I never knew the term for it growing up, so I always want to put that out there in case it helps others realize they aren't alone or 'weird'. I feel like a lot of natural lefties end up this way simply because we have to adapt to a world designed for righties but thats just my theory and there are definitely people who use their right hand more that are also cross dominant so thats obviously not the exclusive cause.

Thanks for the videos Phil, this is a question that I see on forums and such a lot and it'll be great to be able to link to this video to help people figure out what works for them.

[Stringers]

many many moons ago, my teacher tried to get me to play right handed, said I'd regret it if i didnt, so i tried for several weeks and just couldnt do it. Finally he gave in, helped me string one of the class guitars left, and there was no going back. I regret nothing. i love the instrument and it feels very natural and well, 'right'.

[diversecity]

Great video Phil, thank you for all the great content. You have been a valuable asset to my guitar & accessories education. I write with my right hand but cut food with my left. About 30 years ago, I picked up a right handed guitar. It never felt right & I lost interest. In February of 2019, I purchased a used left handed guitar & borrowed a right handed guitar. 12 left handed guitars later & I'm having a blast. Due to limited options for lefties, huge fan of buying inexpensive guitars & upgrading them myself. It blows my mind how a good set of pickups & pots with proper set up & intonation can not only improve sound & tone. Additionally it changes the way the guitar feels & plays.

[rattlesnakedaddy]

Thank you for this video. It confirms my choice to switch to left handed guitar. As a kid, I always picked up guitars left handed. However, I first studied piano, and later moved to double bass and electric bass. I was taught bass right handed. When I decided to learn guitar, I tried to learn right handed, but I found using a pick difficult. If I flipped the guitar, picking and strumming were much easier. So, I traded in the right handed guitar for a lefty. It is taking a little time to get my right hand up to speed for fretting, but it feels so much more comfortable overall. Makes me wonder how different my journey on bass would be if a left handed double bass had been an option.

[davelate]

Tried to learn right-handed with my brand new Hardtail Strat in it didn't so my machinist Uncle fashioned a brass lefty nut.... and I have played lefty ever since....even before I'd heard of I still have it.... just wished I'd kept the original It would be worth a mint.... but I'll never sell it

[alangreenway]

I’m a lefty, and have played lefty from day one. I picked guitar up relatively easy in the first 2 weeks, and I’m certain that wouldn’t of happened if I would of learned righty. If you’re going to give up playing guitar it’ll be in the first few months, so every advantage you can get to succeed early
is a good idea. I also can tell if people should learn lefty by just asking them to play air guitar- that gives it away in seconds.

As for the ‘if you play lefty you’ll have less choice for high end instruments’ argument, I own lots of rarer lefties including a Gibson Flying V, an EVH Wolfgang, a Custom 22 10 top PRS, and A Gretsch Bo Diddley, and have a Gibson Explorer on the way. I probably wouldn’t have bought as many guitars if I wasn’t for being left handed because the search is greater.

Thanks Phil for a great video that sees the problems lefties had from our position. I’ve gotten way too angry at several Righty Guitarist Youtubers who entirely dismiss the concept of lefty guitar because they’ve never had to experience what being left handed is actually like.

[proggz]

For me I could immediately tell I was more comfortable playing left handed. I started with an acoustic I played upside down until I bought myself a left hand schecter. Trying to play right handed just felt so wrong to me

[arthurpiccio]

Thank you. I'm a lefty and you're one of the few guitar YouTubers who didn't have a stupid "hot take" on this topic.

[wierdlygruesome]

Thank you phill for being honest your the first person truly address this important issue

[jsserch]

I'm Left Handed and I play left handed guitars, it makes more sense to have my non dominant hand on the fretboard.

[michaelsguitars]

When I was about 13-14, I started playing guitar. I'm left-handed myself, but I started out playing right-handed. As I learned more about the guitar and rock bands like Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, I found out left-handed guitars were a thing. While I was learning to play right-handed, I always felt like something was... off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I could once I started playing left-handed. Playing lefty just felt "Correct" to me, way back before anyone told me that there was a right or wrong way to play. Maybe it's just an instinct thing, I don't know. I switched to left-handed guitars after about 6 months to a year of playing right-handed, so starting over wasn't too big of a deal. I made more progress as a left-handed player in 6 months than I did right handed for a year.

My main point is, whatever your dominant hand is, give it a try. If you're left-handed, give a left-handed guitar a try and you may like it. It may even feel better for you given you're strumming with your dominant hand. Some left-handed people do still play right handed because they use their dominant hand to fret the guitar. You can really do it either way, it's all up to user preference. I do like to advocate for playing left-handed if that is your dominant hand just because it came to me so easily and it has served me well for over 15 years. With companies like Glarry making lefties now, it's easier than ever to get entry level guitars left-handed, something that was a challenge for me as a teenager but not so much these days. Epiphone has some nice selections too.

Left-handed or right-handed, they all play the same notes in the end.

Edit: After you explained the test, it makes sense to me now. I've always clapped primarily with my left hand making all of the movement. Never even thought about it. That's really cool.

[scottlewis]

Thanks so much for this video, Phillip. As a lefty guitarist, I've always been annoyed by people encouraging lefties to "just learn right handed" (60 Cycle Hum, I'm looking at you). Every person is different and this subject should be treated on a person by person basis, as you eloquently demonstrate. How much great music have we possibly lost because new players were discouraged by their options? I'm old enough to have heard stories of kindergarten age children that were forced to learn to write right-handed even though they clearly favored their left. There's no place for that kind of behavior in the 21st century. And we are living in a golden age of lefty guitar availability: when I started 30 years ago, lefties were rare and usually expensive. Now I have a collection of nearly 20 guitars that span the spectrum of cheap to expensive and (almost) all of them are great players.

[mikeangelo]

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you!
Finally someone has addressed the left handed Dilemma. I’m a lefty and have had limited choices because of it.
Hopefully manufacturers will watch this video and the responses to start making more left handed guitars.
I’m sure many people have quit guitar playing because they are natural lefty’s and they were forced to play right handed.